Can anyone recommend a TRUSTWORTHY car shipper?

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65sprint
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Can anyone recommend a TRUSTWORTHY car shipper?

Post by 65sprint »

Hi all, I need my car shipped from Denver Colorado to upstate New York. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a trustworthy car shipper. In the past I'd gotten damaged cars, and also the old excuse of, "gas prices went up unexpectedly so I need $300 more before I can unload your car". Most of my shipping experiences have been good, but there's always the bad egg in the group, which makes choosing a shipper a gamble. Also, I don't trust the websites that have shipper reviews because the shipper who is bad on Tuesday changes his business name on Wednesday and is back to work. I'd prefer to get a recommendation from a real person. Thanks.
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Bruins_Fan
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Re: Can anyone recommend a TRUSTWORTHY car shipper?

Post by Bruins_Fan »

PM inbound. Hopefully it went, not seeing in my outbox or sent box.
'66 Monza Convertible 110hp Powerglide
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65sprint
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Re: Can anyone recommend a TRUSTWORTHY car shipper?

Post by 65sprint »

Hmm, very strange, I did receive your pm on my phone but not here in this version of the website. But anyway, thanks for the information, I'll contact Bob regarding shipping, thanks.
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Bruins_Fan
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Re: Can anyone recommend a TRUSTWORTHY car shipper?

Post by Bruins_Fan »

65sprint wrote: Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:43 am Hmm, very strange, I did receive your pm on my phone but not here in this version of the website. But anyway, thanks for the information, I'll contact Bob regarding shipping, thanks.
I also ended up seeing it as an email (saw it later on my phone, too). No idea why the site forwarded it to our emails and not on the site, itself??! :dontknow:

Good luck with the car!
'66 Monza Convertible 110hp Powerglide
erco
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Re: Can anyone recommend a TRUSTWORTHY car shipper?

Post by erco »

Related, I looked into shipping a car east several years ago. It was actually cheaper to ship eastward than westward. For whatever reason, most shipping demand is westward and eastbound car carriers have plenty of empty spaces.
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bbodie52
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Re: Can anyone recommend a TRUSTWORTHY car shipper?

Post by bbodie52 »

This shipper was recommended to me by...

Mike Walters
Client Advisor
3000 W. Coast Hwy, Newport Beach, CA 92663
Office: 949-645-5900 ● Fax: 949-645-0044
● Web site: www.sterlingbmw.com
Image

I'm currently having a Corvair shipped to me from California to North Carolina. The BMW dealer indicated that they have had very good experiences with this shipper, and so far I have had every indication that they are careful and only recommend reputable car haulers. For example, Jennifer recommended a car hauler to me, and with my OK she began to orchestrate the shipment. A short time later she called back and apologized and stated that she was not really comfortable with that hauler's insurance credentials or his high deductible. She said she would have to cancel his service and would prefer to look elsewhere for a better shipper that she felt was more trustworthy. I got the impression from the BMW Dealer and from working with her directly that she makes every effort to carefully screen the car haulers she is considering, and really watches out for her shipping clients' well-being. My Corvair shipment is still in transit, so at this time I cannot give you a final outcome to this story until next week's delivery. But I wanted to provide this info since you are looking now and might want to consider the possibility of using Southern Cal Auto Relocation to ship your car. You might look over their website and possibly call Jennifer next week to see what she has to say.
Southern Cal Auto Relocation.jpg
:link: http://www.socalautorelocation.com/index.html
Jennifer Fabella
Contact Us
We are available from Monday thru Friday from 6:00am until 6:00pm PST.

Phone: (626) 573-2300

eMail: jenniferf@socalautorelocation.com

or write us at:

Southern Cal Auto Relocation
P.O. Box 1385
Rosemead, CA 91770
Services
We offer transportation services for the following automobiles: Sedans, Coups, Trucks, Pick-up Trucks, Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs), Sports Cars, Luxury Cars, Mini-Vans and Full-Sized Vans. There are a number of different ways to get your vehicle from point A to point B.

Auto Transport Service Regions
We service all areas of the continental United States. Whether your moving your automobile from New York to Los Angeles, Florida to San Francisco, or just about anywhere in between we have you covered. Heading to New England? Check. Sashaying to the South West? We do that. Rolling up to the Rockies? Yea we go there too. Wandering up to Washington's Pacific Northwest? Yep, we're there. East, west, north, and south you'll find our carriers transporting our clients' cars safe and efficiently.
Also, Image gives SOUTHERN CAL AUTO RELOCATION INCORPORATED 4.9 Stars out of a possible 5 Stars, based on 33 customer reviews, further stating that 100% of their clients would use SOUTHERN CAL AUTO RELOCATION INCORPORATED again, saying things like: "Great shipper and easy to work with" and "Great carrier!". The Better Business Bureau gave them a rating of "B".
Image
Brad Bodie
Lake Chatuge, North Carolina
Image 1966 Corvair Corsa Convertible
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bbodie52
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Re: Can anyone recommend a TRUSTWORTHY car shipper?

Post by bbodie52 »

FINAL...

Southern Cal Auto Relocation ended up connecting me with Masney Auto Logistics https://www.masney.com/
ImageImage

An open transport truck like the one below was going to cost $1500 from the BMW dealer's lot on the Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach, California to a drop-of point in Blairsville, GA. However, Southern Cal Auto Relocation located an opening on a Masney enclosed truck that was offered to me for only $200 more, which I decided to take because it provided enclosed carrier protection for my Corvair at a great price. 2,233 miles of well-protected transport began on Friday, September 18 and the car was delivered in great condition, on-time and with well-coordinated multiple phone calls from the driver on Friday, September 25th. The driver was friendly and very helpful. An overall very good experience!

Image

PROBLEMS:
The BMW dealer announced a procedure they use (after the car had already left California) where they hold the title and registration documents until they receive a signed copy of the Bill of Lading from me. The Bill of Lading is signed by the recipient of the car upon delivery. It was signed in the parking lot where the car was delivered, and my copy was electronically sent to my email address. The car was shipped by the BMW dealer with no title or registration, and no temporary license plate (paper license), which would have allowed me to drive the car home and down to the North Carolina DMV to register and title it in North Carolina. The car only had an expired California license plate attached. North Carolina has no provision to issue a temporary permit to drive the car on public roads, and can only issue a NC title and registration when they are given the existing documents from the previous state (California), which were being held in California by the BMW dealer until they received a copy of the commercial transport Bill of Lading, which I received from Masney upon delivery of the Corvair and payment by cashier's check of $1700 to them. With that I had a drivable Corvair in a grocery store parking lot 20 miles from my home with no way to drive it on public roads. Putting the car on a commercial tow truck was the only legal way to get it to my driveway. (The transport trucks are far too big to reach my home on available rural roads).

For example, in Georgia, the only method to legally drive a newly purchased vehicle now is to have either a dealer-issued 30 day drive-out tag or a temporary operating permit from the county tag office. The requirements for this registration are a bill of sale, current registration from the previous owner, driver’s license, and proof of insurance. The customer will then be issued a temporary operating permit good for 30 days from the date of purchase. North Carolina could not issue a temporary permit since the current registration documents were held back by the BMW dealer. I still do not know why they could not issue a 30-day temporary permit. They had a copy of my NC driver's license, a copy of my proof of insurance, and th original California title and registration document in their possession. Had they attached a 30 day permit to the car, I would have been covered until I received the title via Fed-Ex.

I will get the California title and registration documents from the BMW dealer via FedEx next Wednesday — six days after I received the Corvair. Then I can contact the NCDMV for an appointment to register the car in North Carolina (COVID-19 VIRUS PROCEDURE). After that, I can actually begin driving the car! California gets no sales tax from me. North Carolina gets 3% plus $5.42 per year for Vehicle Property Tax — cheaper than California's almost 8% tax! ::-):
catch-22

noun

a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions.
"a catch-22 situation. A frustrating situation in which one is trapped by contradictory regulations or conditions. any illogical or paradoxical problem or situation; dilemma. a condition, regulation, etc., preventing the resolution of a problem or situation.
This "Catch-22" could have been avoided if the car dealer had: (A) sent the title and registration to me in advance to allow me to obtain a North Carolina license or temporary permit (if the car needed a local safety inspection to be registered, which the old Corvair is exempt from), or (B) attached a temporary paper license to the car so that it could be driven on public roads for the purpose of bringing it home and getting it registered (Don't they do that anymore?). It turned out that the Masney driver could have directly emailed a copy of the Bill of Lading directly to the BMW dealer when he emailed a copy to me, but nobody ever asked him to. It never should have been necessary for the BMW dealer to hold the title and registration documents back in California. (They said they do that to ensure that they get a signed copy of the Bill of Lading from the vehicle buyer. Without it they are liable for the California State Sales Tax. (If I had flown to California to pick up the car and then had personally driven it back to North Carolina, I would have had to pay the Sales Tax of $781.20 and $25 for a "One Trip Permit". By shipping the car commercially, no California tax or fee is applicable. The Bill of Lading I sent to the BMW dealer gets them off the hook for having to pass the sales tax money on to the California tax people). :doh: :angry: :sad5:

:confused: If all of this sounds confusing, it was for me too! Imagine what those unfortunate people in places like Europe have to go through to ship a Corvair to their country!

Bottom line: Ask lots of questions and do your homework regarding licensing, title transfer, taxes and fees, etc. The actual commercial shipping was straightforward, trouble-free and there were no surprises. The problems came from trying to cover taxes, local and state regulations, unknown dealer procedures, etc. As for a purchase from a private party :dontknow:
Brad Bodie
Lake Chatuge, North Carolina
Image 1966 Corvair Corsa Convertible
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